Battle Scars
by GirlX2
Summary: With a life like hers, Calhoun isn't a model of mental health. Nightmares are programmed in. And glitches are just the beginning.


Battle Scars

By GirlX2

0o0o0o000

She bashed her hands on the blue barrier. It didn't _work_ this way, only glitched characters were trapped in their games, glitching didn't keep others out!

"Tammy, stop!" Her husband begged from the other side of the barrier. He fuzzed out of view for a moment. "You'll hurt yourself, and I can't fix—"

"Never mind that! I'm getting—you—OUT!" She howled, and drew her laser blaster.

"You _can't_! Tammy, please, it's over. They're gonna pull the plug any second."

"It is not over! You listen to me soldier, I am getting you out of that game, and we…we…"

She trailed off. His image was fuzzing again, this time barely recognizable as a person, let alone the man she loved.

"…_go_…" His voice, barely a whisper as he broke apart.

There was nothing left to save.

0o0o0o0o0

She woke screaming in her bunker.

Her men stared at her, open mouthed.

"What are you mayflowers looking at? Back in formation!" She barked, getting to her feet. "Valesquez! Quarter check!"

"Y-Yes sarge!" The man snapped off a quick salute and ran, followed by the others.

She dropped back to her cot, legs trembling.

This _had_ to stop.

It was never the same. That was the sheer hell of it. If it was the same each time she fell asleep, she could form a strategy and stop it. She could usually work great plans on the fly.

In reality anyway.

'Why? Why am I still having these dreams?' She bashed the heel of her hand to her forehead, as if to knock out whatever programming made her nights horrifying.

She'd just have to man up and get over it. That was all.

She could do it. She _could_.

0o0o0o0o0

"Felix, I have told you a thousand times, it's too dangerous for you to be here!" She snapped at the small man trailing her across the scorched wasteland of Hero's Duty. "If there was a bug—"

"There isn't!" He insisted. "Tammy, the arcade's closed for jaminy's sake!"

"You think that matters to those viruses?" She snarled. "I'll meet you at Tappers in a while. I've gotta do one last sweep, and I can't be watching you too!"

A rare look of anger crossed her husband's face. "FINE! You think I'm some…some _useless_ _hick_ that can't see a giant bug in front of his face? I'll go!"

His voice was so…cold. She'd never heard him speak like that to _anyone_.

"Felix, I don't-"

"Oh, I think it's clear you do, missy. Well, when you're ready to watch our for your poor simple husband, I'll be AT HOME!" He practically spat the last two words.

"_Felix_." She almost didn't recognize her own voice. "I just want you to be safe."

"Well, when you think it's safe, I might still be around." He actually _growled_ at her before turning his back and heading for the exit.

She hurried after him, final sweep forgotten. "Felix, please, I didn't mean anything like that!"

"Tell it to the Cy bugs." He said icily. He didn't even turn around before walking into the train. The doors slid shut, ferrying him back to Game Central Station.

She felt something wet and warm on her face. Blood? No…No it _couldn't_ be…

0o0o0o0

She sat up, breathless. Her vision was blurry. She blinked in confusion, and the last few tears slipped from her eyes.

She scrubbed them furiously. "Get it _together_ Calhoun, you stupid puppy-snuggler!"

Even her insults were beginning to suffer from lack of sleep.

It was getting worse. The last was worse than all the cybug, turbo-tastic, glitchy dooms that had come before. Those she could deal with.

It was all so _stupid_. Felix loved her! They'd never even had a fight where he'd raised his voice.

She wasn't sure if his volume could even _go_ that high.

"You're seeing him in a few hours. Get it together, lady." Her admonishment was quiet. She couldn't lose it in front of her man.

It was bad enough by herself.

0o0o0o0o0

She was running as fast as she could, laser blowing bugs apart like shoddy balloons. The player was doing an _amazing_ job. They'd get to the top of the tower in no time at this rate.

She smiled as the user blew away a giant bug as they broached the back steps. "Job's not done yet soldier! To the top!"

They ran, her long legs clearing _nearly_ as much space as the bot. She didn't want to outpace it. It was perfect.

Well, as perfect as things got in hell.

They cleared the last few steps, nearly to the end boss in the medal room. This was a near perfect run. She'd be bragging about this at Tappers for—

"Tammy…"

The voice, barely a croak, snapped her attention to the corner of the room. Felix lay there, battered, bloodied, and bruised. His arms were chained to the wall, hammer laying out of reach on the floor. A semi-circle of eggs surrounded him, black and glittering.

"Felix! What—" She stepped towards him, gamer forgotten, _game_ forgotten, nothing else mattering except getting to him.

"Ah-ah-ah." A claw slammed into her back, sending her sprawling to the floor, gun skittering out of her hands.

"Tammy!" Felix's hoarse voice cried out, brimming with fear. "Leave her alone, Turbo!"

_No_.

She got to her feet, back to her husband.

The Candy Turbo Bug leered down at her, purple goo dripping down his face, blood on his claws. _Felix's_ blood.

She didn't care how he'd survived the cola beacon. She didn't care how he'd gotten past her guard posts, or how he'd captured Felix and imprisoned him here.

All she cared about was making him die. _Slowly_.

"So nice of you to join us." His face glitched, showing the skeletal Turbo for a moment. "I was afraid I'd reach your husband's hit limit before you came. He can't regenerate _here_ of course."

"Time to send you to Gramma Nutt." She growled, tensing to spring for her gun.

"I wouldn't do that, my dear."

"Call me that again and I'll rip out your truffles."

"Touch me and he dies." The joviality left Cy-Candy's voice. "Think you can reach that gun before my little babies can devour him?"

She glanced behind her. The eggs were beginning to glow.

"Felix, _don't move_."

"Tell him it's going to be alright." Cy-Candy hissed. "_Lie_ to him, Sergeant."

Felix looked up at her, blue eyes brimming with tears of pain.

"It _is_ gonna be okay." She snarled, fear locking in on her heart. The eggs were rocking.

"Oh, no. Not it's not." Cy-Candy slammed into her, knocking her senseless to the ground.

"Tammy! Oh, no, Tammy please, please—" Felix's voice, battered as his body, rose fearfully. She could hear the buzzing of tiny insects. "Please, help me! HELP ME!"

The words melted into screams.

0o0o0o0o0

"Tammy! TAMMY!"

She woke, a scream on her lips, tears in her eyes. "You BASTARD!"

She swung a fist. It connected solidly with her husband's jaw, knocking several teeth free.

"Ow." Felix dropped his hands from her shoulders and picked up his hammer from the nightstand.

"Oh…My God, Felix, I'm so sorry." Hear head began to clear. Another damned dream.

"No harm done." He winced and tapped his face, restoring the teeth to their rightful place. "What in the wide world of Warcraft was _that_ about?"

"Nothing. Bad dream."

"I guessed." He said patiently. "You've had a lot of those lately."

"And?" She rolled over, away from him.

"You were saying my name."

She didn't say anything.

"Tammy, even a darn fool like me can see you're upset." He placed a gentle hand on her. "Please, talk to me."

'Nothing to talk about." Her throat jerked with pent up sobs. "I've got issues."

"What can I do to help?"

"Fix my programming. Promise my over protectiveness won't drive you away. Be invincible to pain and glitching."

Felix remained quiet for a moment. "Well…I can do the middle one, no problem. I _love_ you, sugar."

She rolled back to him. "I _know_. That's the worst thing."

"Huh?"

"I wake up, and I can see these dreams are stupid. But I can't stop HAVING THEM!"

He wrapped her in a hug. "Listen to me, Tamora Jean. I can't promise you that nothing will ever happen to me. I can't promise you we'll never have a fight and get cross with each other. Nobody knows what will happen. But I will try my darndest to keep those things from happening. I will never stop trying. That I _can_ promise."

She couldn't say anything. She didn't trust her voice not to hitch.

He smiled crookedly. "And when you have bad dreams, I promise you can punch my lights out of that'll make you feel better."

A small laugh broke her lips, and the tears dissipated. "I love you, Fix-It."

"I love you too, Ma'am."

0o0o0o0o0

The end.

**A/N Between her game and her back-story, I don't see Calhoun being programmed to be a perfect specimen of mental health. Wonder of Dr. Mario does psychiatry? **


End file.
